Treasure Hunt
by Kaoli water goddess
Summary: A little timewaster for Sango during a day of rest leads to her finding the greatest treasure of all. Cheesy as it sounds, plz read!


A/N: I just got this idea as I was meandering around and I thought, hey I wanna write this! So I am!! Cute and fluffy… hope you like…

Disclaimer: looks in empty pockets Hmm… nope, don't own them. I'm just that good of a pickpocket to where I can take 'em and no one knows…. Hee hee, but I use 'em only for good!! Promise!

**Treasure Hunt**

Sango rolled onto her side, placing her face right into the sun. She groaned and tried to stay asleep; she just didn't want to wake up from her dream, not yet anyway. Finally she sat up and stretched, giving up on her nap. She looked around to find an empty hut; not like she expected anyone there, but still.

Kagome had dragged Inuyasha and Shippo back to her world for another of those 'tests', leaving her and the monk to stay at Kaede's until they returned. She didn't mind being left with Miroku, but Kaede was off helping an expectant mother in the village, so she wasn't around too often.

By her guess, the monk had taken advantage of her sleeping in and was off flirting with the village girls as usual. She didn't feel like messing with him right now; she hated watching him flirt shamelessly, as though he had never promised her anything… it just hurt her too much.

A little 'meow!' brought Sango out of her musings. She looked at the door and saw Kirara walk in, happily swishing her tails. The little neko jumped into her mistress' lap and begged for her ears to be scratched, something Sango did not object to. "So what have you been doing Kirara?" Sango asked her little companion. Kirara jumped out of her lap and walked over to a corner of the hut and trotted back with a folded piece of paper in her mouth. "What's this? A letter?" Sango took it from Kirara's mouth and opened it:

_To see you sleep so peacefully is a dream in itself. If only you're that peaceful awake. Either way, you're beautiful in my eyes. I know you wonder who I am, but I can't tell you. Maybe you'll find me at sundown; that's when you're prettiest to me._

"What in the world… where did you get this Kirara?" Sango asked, but the little neko walked off, beckoning Sango to follow her. Sango walked outside and Kirara looked at her expectantly. "What do you want now Kirara?" Sango asked impatiently. Kirara mewed and shook her head towards the window slat. There, sitting on the ledge, was another folded paper. Sango took it up and read it.

_As tense as you can be sometimes, you always want to relax. So where can you relax, but yet cannot?_

'Relax, but can't relax? What is that?' she thought. She walked down the path towards the center of the village, when she saw a smokestack coming from one of the houses. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "The hot springs!" She turned back around and started running towards the springs, until she remembered; the village had access to at least three springs, all far away from one another.

'Ugh… how do I know which hot spring he's talking about?' she thought. She collapsed under a tree and sighed. 'Which hot spring do I go to?' she thought. Then she hit a memory; she and Kagome always had a habit of going to the _same_ spring. Reinvigorated, she ran to their spring and smiled at the sight; where she usually rests her head, laid another folded letter. She picked it up and read:

_When you lie here, it's as though all your worries fade; I can see that all in your expression. Someday I hope that I can brush all your worries aside with just the fact that I love seeing that expression on your face. In fact, I love any expression you make, whether it's to smile or to scowl; you can just be so beautiful._

_As much as I want a love of our own to thrive, we know that it may not happen… but still can't we try? But where did a companion of your's lose a love?_

'Companion of mine? Hmmm…' Sango thought. 'There's Kagome, but if she's lost a love, then it was in her time, and I can't go there. Shippo lost his parents, but I don't know exactly where that happened… Inuyasha? That makes sense!! He lost Kikyo at the Goshimboku (A/N: hope I spelled that right )!' She smiled, "That's the answer! The god-tree!" She ran off, hoping for the next letter.

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Unknown to Sango, her admirer was right on her tail. "Good work Sango. I knew you were clever, but I may stump you soon." He receded back into the trees.

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Sango's heart started to pound once she reached the god-tree. Another letter was propped up next to as tree root. Before she grabbed the letter, she remembered the story that Kagome told her about the tragic loss of Kikyo and Inuyasha's love. Then her curiosity got the best of her and she grabbed the letter from the ground:

_This is a sacred place to two of your companions. They have loved and lost in this spot. I hope that we can love here too, but we shall never lose one another; I promise that. _

_Two lost a love, two gained a love. But when two come together, they form one. Where does the one go? _

'WHAT???' Sango thought. 'What is this one saying? This guy loves me…' A blush tinted her cheeks. 'I can't think about this right now! Two lost a love; that's Inuyasha and Kikyo. Two gained a love; that's Inuyasha and Kagome. But when two come together they form one; what does that mean??' Her stomach growled slightly and she looked up at the sky to see the sun at its peak. 'Well, I'll figure this one out after lunch…' With that, she walked back to the village.

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Sango walked into the small hut, ready to just eat her lunch and rush out to find the answer to the clue. She looked up and spotted Kaede and Miroku sitting around the fire. She sat down across from the monk and took a bowlful of the soup. Kaede finally spoke, "Ah ye are up child!"

Sango smiled at the aging priestess. "Yes, I slept in quite a bit, didn't I?"

"Is something wrong child?" Kaede asked.

"Oh no!" Sango exclaimed. "I just needed the extra rest, that's all."

"Ay…" the woman said. "Well, I'm sorry to depart as you arrive, but Midoro will probably have that child soon. I'm off." With that, the priestess left.

Sango continued to eat quietly, completely forgetting about Miroku across from her. She started mumbling the verse from the letter again, "Two lost a love, two gained a love… two come together to form one…"

"What was that?"

Sango started out of her musings and looked up at the monk. "Oh Miroku, I forgot you were there… it's nothing…" (A/N: I decided to go with the fact that Sango DOES say his name; that's just too complicated to get into now.)

"So, you slept in pretty late today…" Miroku said, trying to start a conversation. The taijiya nodded to him. "What have you been doing?"

"Just walking around," she said. It was sort of true… "And what about you? When were you up?"

"Right about the same time as the sun," he answered. "Decided to get some early morning chores done."

"Early start on the flirting, huh?" Sango asked sarcastically.

"Now Sango," he said, feigning innocence. "I don't believe you'd think I would do that!" She snorted. "But, I was out meditating and out watching the children."

"Children?" she echoed.

"The village children," he said. "They play down by the river and it's somewhat relaxing to just watch them."

"Oh," she said, looking at him. A black spot on his usually clean robes caught her attention. "What's that black spot on your robe?"

He looked down. "Oh, it's ink."

"Ink?" Sango repeated. 'Could he possibly…'

"This morning an older villager came up to me and asked me to copy down some scripture for him, and while I was working, the ink blotted on me a little," Miroku explained. She nodded her head in understanding, and he stood up. "Well, I'm going to go out for a bit."

"Wait Miroku!" she called. He looked back at her and she said, "I was wondering if you could help me understand something."

"Like what?" he asked.

"A… proverb," she fibbed. "It says 'two lost a love, two gained a love, but when two come together, they form one'. I'm trying to fit it to our situation. The lost love is Kikyo and Inuyasha, the gained love is Kagome and Inuyasha, but I can't figure out the last part."

Miroku chuckled slightly. "Children, Sango." At her confused look, he started to explain, "Two parents come together to form one, a child."

"That's it!!" she exclaimed, jumping up.

"Do you understand the proverb now?" he asked.

"Yes! Thank you Miroku!!" she exclaimed, running out of the hut. She completely missed the smile on Miroku's face.

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Sango rushed down to the valley by the river, where Miroku said he had watched the children. They were still there, playing and laughing happily. She watched them dreamily and began to imagine a child of her own running around as well; strangely she could see her child with lively violet eyes, mimicking a certain someone's….

"Miss?" Sango looked down at the little girl who had called to her. "Are you looking for someone?"

Sango got down to the girl's level and said, "Actually I'm looking for _something_."

The girl looked at Sango more closely. "Are you looking for a letter?"

"Yes!" Sango said happily.

"Here you go!" the girl said, handing her a folded paper.

"Thank you," she said. "By the way… did you happen to see who gave you the letter?"

"He said I couldn't tell you," the girl replied.

"What about what he was wearing?" Sango prodded.

"Again, can't tell you," she said. "Bye bye Miss!" With that, she ran off.

Sango walked away from the playing children and settled under a tree in the shade. She unfolded the letter and read:

_Watching these children makes me muse about my own future. Maybe someday you'll bear a child for me…_

Sango gasped. 'Bear a child… I only know one person who talks like that! Miroku!' Hoping to further conclude her deduction she read on(A/N: ooooh… Big words…):

_Sadly you don't know me… _

Sango's hopes sank. 'It's not him after all…'

_To you, I'm just a face in the crowd. But where does this crowd gather?_

'Crowds… crowds… crowds…' she thought, closing her eyes. In the distance, she could hear chickens squawking and peddlers yelling out their merchandise. 'Of course! The market!' She got up and ran to the other side of the village where the weekly market was held.

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Sango walked down the market aisle glancing form booth to booth. 'Ugh… where's the letter? Where could it possibly be? This market is huge, and it's already mid-afternoon…' She groaned in frustration. A glimmer attracted her attention on her left and she walked over to the booth. She was greeted to the sight of silver and gold necklaces and bracelets. "These are exquisite…" she breathed.

"Why thank you miss," the peddler said, coming to the front of the stand. "Highest quality in this area."

"I'll admit that they're beautiful," Sango replied, fingering a necklace. She groaned and tore her eyes from the beautiful jewelry. "Ugh, I better go figure out where that thing is."

The vendor looked up at her. "What are you looking for, may I ask?"

"As crazy as this sounds," she explained. "I'm looking for a letter."

"You mean this?" he asked, pulling a folded paper from his pocket.

"Yes! That's it!" she exclaimed, as he handed her the letter. "Thank you so much!"

"Wait!" the guy said, grabbing her hand. "Here. It would look good on you."

In her hand, he dropped a silver, heart-shaped locket on a thin chain. "I can't take this," she breathed.

"It came with the letter," he explained. "The guy said that you need to have it."

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, running out of the market into a shaded glen. She clasped the locket around her neck and looked down at it. "This is so beautiful…" she breathed. Opening the letter, she read:

_I hope this locket could express how I feel about you. The heart… well you know what that symbolizes. Inside is a picture that only quenches part of your beauty…_

'Huh?' Sango thought. She looked at the locket and opened it up. Inside was a picture of herself, but the other side was blank. She went back to the letter.

_I couldn't put in my own picture yet; that would ruin the surprise. I'll give it to you when we meet. Now, I know this locket will keep us bonded, but the one who keeps all your companions bonded… where does she come from?_

'One who bonds my companions… Kagome!' She gasped in realization. 'She comes from… the well. That's it; the well!' she got up and ran, just as the sun began it's descent down the horizon.

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Sango ran all the way to the well, her locket bouncing up and down on her chest. She panted as she made it to the clearing of the well and saw the last letter propped up against the well. She picked it up and read it:

_I believe after all the running around and questions, you have to wonder who I am. I can't tell you in this letter, but I can show you. I'll be down by the river; I want to see your beautiful face reflected in the sunset because that's my favorite time to see you. To be sure that you know me, I'll be with a friend of your's. Until we meet my love…_

'We meet!' she thought. 'About time too…' She looked back to see the sun halfway down the horizon. "I've got to hurry!"

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Sango reached the slope of the hill leading to the river. Subconsciously, she smoothed out her hair and her yukata. 'I don't know why I'm doing this…' she thought. 'But this guy said that he loved me! I've gotta know who he is!'

She spotted Kirara in her transformed state and rushed to her. Patting her companion on the head, she giggled, "Hey girl is my mystery guy here with you?"

"Sango?"

Sango looked at her left and spotted the monk next to her. "Miroku! I wasn't expecting you! I'm supposed to meet this guy, who's…"

"I know," he said cutting her off. "And you have."

"What?" she breathed. "It's been you? But one of the letters mentioned 'bear me a child' and I was sure that it was you, but you said it wasn't…"

"That's because I didn't want you finding out that it was me that early," he explained. "Besides, I was right; you don't know all of me."

"But… those words…" she stammered. "You spoke those words as though you really loved me…"

"Because I do," he answered. "Look Sango, I've been too afraid of how you'd react to this, so I had to put my feelings out in the open anonymously to know how you felt before I let you know that it was me. And those words were true; I love you."

Sango was utterly speechless; her brain shut down after the words 'I love you' came out of his mouth. Suddenly she couldn't control her emotions either; she launched herself into Miroku's arms and said, "My god Miroku; I love you too."

He hugged her to him and breathed in the scent of her hair. "You're so beautiful, you know that Sango?" he asked teasingly.

"Say something like that again and see what happens," Sango teased.

"Your face looks heavenly in the light of the setting sun," he said.

"You win," she replied. Her arms wound around his neck and she leaned up giving him a small, chaste kiss, her first. He looked down at her and they both smiled. Miroku leaned down and captured her lips in another kiss, only this one had more passion and hunger in it. Sango responded immediately and pressed forward into him. They broke it and Sango leaned her head up, begging, "One more…"

He gave her a short chaste kiss and reached into his robes. He pulled out a small picture of himself and opened Sango's locket. "May I?" he asked. She nodded and he put his picture in the blank side of her locket. "Now it matches mine," he said.

"Yours?" she echoed. He reached into the collar of his robes and pulled out an identical locket to her's. "Oh my…"

"We match," he explained.

"That we do," she replied, cuddling into his arms. She closed her eyes and sighed. This was it; this was right. She could see their shadows on the ground grower longer as the sun finally descended over the horizon. She looked up at Miroku and smiled timidly at him. He leaned close, as though to tease her for a kiss, but he allowed their noses to touch and he kissed the tip. "I love you Miroku," Sango breathed.

"And I love you," he replied back to her. He broke their embrace and put an arm around her waist. "Come on," he said. "It's been a long day and I need some rest." Sango leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked back to the village.

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That night the two slept in each other's arms. (A/N: Not that way you little Mirokus out there. Just cuddling. No sex in this one! If you want some of those, wait for my other stories; I got a ton that have a few in them.) Sango woke up to inhale the musky scent she always associated with Miroku. She buried her head back in his chest, causing him to stir. "Morning Sango…"

"Good morning," she replied, leaning up for a short, chaste kiss. She put her arms around his neck as best she could, and sighed. "Can we just stay like this all day?" she asked.

"I wouldn't mind that…" he said, a gleam starting in his eyes.

"Not like that," she replied, shooting down his fantasies.

"Fine then," he said with confidence. "Then I get as many kisses as I want today!" With that, he instantly assailed Sango's mouth with kisses and nips, not as though she was complaining. She fought back with him as well.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" A girlish squeal suddenly burst out over the couple and they quit their battle immediately. Looking to the door, they saw the rest of their companions staring at them and Kagome covering her mouth so to not release another squeal (A/N: Just a random question, but how many of you thought it was A. that lady in labor that Kaede's helping or B. Inuyasha that squealed? Just a question; review w/ your answer!!)

"God wench, can you be any louder?" Inuyasha asked, rubbing his poor injured ears.

"You two were KISSING?? Actually kissing?? What did I miss?!?!" Kagome exclaimed.

At that moment, Miroku and Sango realized that they were still lying on their shared futon together. Quickly they sat up and tried to move away from one another, but they were choked due to the fact that their lockets were interlocked. (A/N: I'll shut up after this, but has that ever happened to you? I mean that you're wearing multiple necklaces and they get caught together? Happens to me all the time; I wear at least three necklaces at once. As promised, I'll shut up now.) Miroku untangled them and the two sat close. "We had a heart-to-heart," Sango explained, still embarrassed that they had been caught.

"Aww! Is that why you two have matching lockets?" Kagome asked.

They both nodded and Miroku explained, "Symbols of our love." He put an arm around Sango, causing her to turn red, since everyone was watching them. "It's so we'll always be together, no matter what."

"How kawaii!" Kagome explained. "You didn't mention this to me before I left."

"What are you talking about?" Sango asked, placing one of her hands on Miroku's leg for balance.

"Well, I was talking to Miroku before I left, you know, telling him to behave and all…" Sango looked up at Miroku, who was putting on an innocent face. Unable to resist, she gave him a short peck on the cheek. Kagome continued, "Anyway, he said he was taking you on a treasure hunt."

"Did he now?" Sango asked, looking at her smiling monk and cuddling closer to him.

"Yeah! So what was the treasure? Did you find it?" Kagome asked.

"We found it," Miroku explained. "Yesterday at sunset." He smiled down at Sango.

"And it was the best treasure of all," she replied, wrapping her arms around her monk.

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A/N: Screw my shutting up promise; end of the story, so I get to rant!! Too cheesy of an ending for you?? Hope not. I think that this is about as long as 'If I Fail' was (If you don't know what that is, it's another Miro/San I have out there; go check it out, along with my other, 'Good Enough'!). This is actually the first story I've posted that isn't a songfic, so 'WOOHOO!!' This story probably could have multiple chapters, but I still haven't figured out how to do that; little help here?

**Please review**; I'm desperate!! My other two stories put together only got 5 reviews (And two were from my friend and she only read 'em cause I made her!!). I'd love ya'll forever!!

P.S. Can't ya tell I'm from Texas?? So do a little Texas city-girl/redneck a favor and click that little purple button down there. Luv ya'll!! Kaoli water goddess ;)


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